Locked Cage
by Deadly Sin Of Mine
Summary: Fate is not, can not be, absolute and there is nothing that cannot happen. Never before has a demon been reincarnated. But now that it has... What is in store for a few reborn souls, who never had and never will have peace? Not even Fate knows.
1. Wrong

The world was silent. It irked the shinobi, to hear so much _silence_. So thick, you'd need a butcher's cleaver to even make a _dent_ in it. Nothing moved. Nothing breathed.

They didn't _dare_ breathe.

It reverberated around them, choking them as it clung to their skin, to the very _air_. It was like all of a sudden there was just _nothing_. There were no battles, no wars, no words, no thoughts. _No movement_.

_Why was there no movement?_

Everyone felt it. Everyone knew instinctively not to breathe, as if it was programmed into their very _being_.

Even the civilians were frozen, unable to move because something was happening that was so utterly _wrong_ that the very universe itself had suddenly just... stopped moving; stopped breathing.

And so the world held its breath as well.

It seemed like hours before someone attempted to break through it. And as one started, many more followed.

The universe seemed to start up again.

And suddenly everything was fine; normal –_right_.

No one mentioned it.

But its affects were lingering just beneath the surface of every being, every thing, every piece of matter that made up the known and unknown and _everything_.

Only one thought remained, and though they didn't know it, it ran through every person, every _thing's_ mind:

_What__** was **__that?_

The thoughts of a forgotten soul, left to wander, answered them –unheard, but there:

_**That**__ is what happens when demons are brought along for the ride_.

The pulsing piece of consciousness drifted away, laughing light-heartedly in amusement.

The gods would not be pleased.

But then, really, who cared about _their _opinions?

(A/N: I'm really interested to see how people interpret this, and I wanna see if you can guess what I'm getting at here. So plz Rate and Review cause I found this very interesting to write and would like to see how you guys like it.

And if anyone can guess my line of thought for the plot from the little hints in there, I shall give you some of my sticky-date pudding!

Or a cookie, if you don't like pudding.

Haha, -Sin


	2. New

(A/N: well, here's the follow-up (part 1) and it STILL hasn't explained a thing. Ha-ha, I love being vague. It'll only be like this for the first chapters though, I think. It's hard to not explain a thing until the very end. Anyway, here you go! Hehe, I feel giddy :3

Happy chapter~)

* * *

It was a cloudy night where only the almost-full moon was able to break through and shine rather dulled light on the houses below. A night when no one really wanted to be out -let alone awake- and those who were of certain unfortunate bites were restless for the night that would come after it. It was on this type of night that our first protagonist's little brother was born.

It had been a rather chaotic entry into the world, if he were to give it his opinion. Everything had been dropped, people awoken and late-night snacks forgotten. The family of six -soon to be seven- had packed into the mini-van that was used mostly for family occasions and holidays, and his father had probably broken about eight road limits speeding to the closest hospital.

Then an anxious wait.

Waiting.

_Waiting._

_**Waiting.**_

He'd begun to pace, unable to do anything except hope nothing would go wrong and his new little brother would be completely healthy and his mother would be sitting there happily holding the bundle in her arms as she cooed at them to come closer and smiled at them all the way only mothers could.

His heart clenched, and he tried -truly, he tried- to force that frightening possibility out of his mind. _What if?_ A question asked far too many times in his supposedly short life. _What if something _does _go wrong?_ He shook his head wildly, as if it would help rid his brain of the thought. He was being ridiculous!

A small, hidden part of his mind disagreed. _No_, it told him, _you are being sensible; worrying_.

_Sensible_, he scoffed, _perhaps. But unreasonable_.

After all –there was really nothing he could do about it, whether he worried or not. He knew this.

He knew it, but it was his nature to worry and hope and _care_.

So he paced.

He paced and he hoped everything would be alright.

* * *

Everything _did_ turn out fine. After three long, utterly aggravating hours, they were all led to room 108, a private recovering room reserved just for the tired, black-haired woman and the newly-born boy.

She ushered them in further so that they were all crowding around her bed, he at her right side, his father opposite himself, then his uncle next to him, his grandmother across from his uncle and finally his fourteen-year old sister sitting cross-legged at the end of the bed, as close as she could get to their mother without sitting on the woman's legs. "Kaa-san, what's his name?" she asked, the first to make conversation once everyone was finished gushing about how utterly adorable the new addition was.

Not all of them doing it obviously, of course.

There were two grown men and a fairly (very) mature boy in the family, after all.

The bright-eyed woman laughed a bell-like laugh, smiling kindly. "Atari-chan, Okaa-san, _boys_, meet Uchiha Sasuke" she said, cheeks rosy with delight and joy.

Idly, he wondered why that sounded so right. So _familiar_. Then two onyx eyes blinked owlishly up at him, and he blinked back. Without realising it, his lips curled up into a smile, and he leaned over his mother's shoulder to get a better look at his brother.

The round little face, which would likely look very much like his own in a few years' time, suddenly mirrored his expression as best a baby's face could, and a small, chubby arm reached out towards him.

He held out his hand for the infant to touch, and his mother looked at him with a subtle pride shining in her face as she said softly to him, "I think he likes you, Itachi".

He hoped so.

He really, _really _hoped so.

* * *

(A/N: Did I surprise ya?

I love Itachi. He's such a great character.

On another note, my obsession with Sonic The Hedgehog and related has come back. Which is strange cause I thought I was done with that.

Itachi reminds me the tiniest bit of Shadow. I love them both.

Well, let's face it- who doesn't?

And on that note, I end my little random chatter.

Ta~


	3. Family

**A/N: Well, it took forever, but I finally figured out where the hell I was going with this chapter.**

**I'm so proud myself ^^/**

**Actually, I'm a little worried this is too off from the tone that I started with. Still, writers can't be... what can't writers be?  
**

**But seriously, really sorry about the wait. Really. Anyway, read, rate, review, and stay awesome.**

**And if you figured out who everyone (or anyone) was before I started to make it obvious, tell me, k? Especially if you got it wrong, cause I'd really like to know who you thought it was.  
**

* * *

Nights in the city were a time no one wanted to be wondering about. Icy air bit at the flesh, and unsettling people walked the streets. Less-than savoury dealings were going on within the darkness, unseen, but everyone knew they were there. The shadows were weaved with danger and dark alleys were avoided by anyone who thought themselves brave enough to be out at this time.

She thought them fools.

For her, the shadows held no danger –they held safety, and the assurance of a hiding place where no one would find her.

Except, maybe, one person. Someone who -though she had not wanted it to happen- had become like family to her.

Perhaps that was the reason she was heading to the local hospital, intent on seeing the red-head whom had taught her about the world, about things she'd never known and things she'd never believed.

Like that she was loved.

So she would make sure that she was there for her older sister as her older sister had been there for her.

* * *

She very nearly changed her mind when she saw them all. More than half of them blonde, the rest mostly brunette. Standing around, waiting for their turn, all bragging that they were closest to the new mother and _of course would be let in first_.

_Namikazes._

She was so very glad her 'brother-in-law' did not turn out like the majority of them.

As it was, the blue-eyed man was looking quite distressed that his family did not understand that he was the father and, as the father, he would be the first (second, if you counted the mother, fifth or sixth if you counted the doctor and nurses) to see the baby.

Or perhaps it was because they didn't even seem to be listening to him in the first place. Really, they were mostly ignoring him anyway.

Poor soul.

Perhaps that was the reason she stayed; to patch up the man's pride.

She'd probably never know –after all, she hated crowds with a passion.

But it was for someone she loved, so it didn't matter.

No, none of it mattered. Not for something like this.

* * *

Her older sister had called for her. She was shocked, and scared, and anxious; would the baby like her? Would he cry the moment he saw her, like most of the children she'd met?

The blonde husband of her sister led her into the room, smiling gently at her. Was that encouragement? She didn't know. She didn't know, but she almost hoped so.

She was trembling slightly. Whether it was from anxiety or excitement, she couldn't tell.

The red-head sitting up in the hospital bed smiled warmly at her, telling her to come closer. As the small being in the woman's arms came into view, a foreign feeling filled her chest, and she nearly cooed at the tiny baby. Wide blue eyes watched her curiously, and the newborn gurgled out a delighted laugh, reaching out with both arms.

The previously impassive look became intrigued, and she felt the corners of her lips curl into a small smile.

A soft laugh, so unlike the red-head's but unmistakably hers, filled her ears, "he like's you, Anko-chan".

"What's his name?" the question slipped out before she could think about it, and the answer came from the Namikaze in the room, a small grin on his face as he did so, "Uzumaki Naruto".

_Fishcake?_

And suddenly the room was filled with quiet laughter, and she realised she'd said it out loud.

"Actually, we were thinking maelstrom," the blonde finally said.

"Yes, because Maelstrom Whirlpool isn't at all repetitive, Minato," his wife teased.

"Well, Miss Kushina, I guess fishcake is better, then?"

Anko Mitarashi laughed, and for the first time, she realised her idea of family had grown to include two more.

* * *

**A/N: Huh. I really need to try and make the chapters longer...**

**Still, the first few chapters are only going to be an introduction. The entire feel of the story will probably change a lot after that.**

**Hope you enjoyed reading Chapter 3!  
**

**Peace out**

**_-Deadly_  
**


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